Interactive timeline: Humphry Davy | The Royal Institution: Science Lives Here Interactive timeline: Humphry Davy Explore the extraordinary life and work of Humphry Davy in this interactive timeline. Aims Explore the life and work of Humphry Davy Key stage Media Interactive timeline via timeline.verite.co Humphry Davy was the first Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution and was very influential in the development of the organisation through his hugely popular lectures and his original scientific research. Life and works Davy’s scientific career began when he moved to Bristol to work at the Pneumatic Institution, run by the policially radical Thomas Beddoes. Davy was employed to investigate gases, often by breathing them in himself. He published his discovery of the physiological effects of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and this helped to attract the notice of the wider scientific community. While in Bristol he also became friends with Robert Southey and Samuel Taylor Coleridge and edited the 2nd edition of William Wordsworth’s Lyrical Ballads. Davy moved to London in 1801 to work at the Royal Institution as Assistant Lecturer, he proved to be an extremely gifted lecturer and was promoted to Professor of Chemistry the following year.

Davy was famous for his lectures which were so popular that a one way system was put in place in Albemarle Street to cope with the traffic, but he was also interested in pursuing chemical research in the Ri laboratories. Using the latest electrochemical techniques he isolated several elements over the next ten years, including sodium, potassium and magnesium. He was later instrumental in identifying other elements such as chlorine and iodine, which had been discovered but were thought to be compounds. In 1812 Davy was knighted and married a wealthy widow, Jane Apreece. He then retired from lecturing, although not from research. His fame was such that he was granted special permission to travel to the continent to meet with other famous scientists (taking the young Michael Faraday along as an assistant). However, the political situation was fragile and the trip had to be cut short in 1815 on Napoleon’s escape from Elba. On his return he developed a form of miner’s safety lamp and later, in the 1820s he advised the Admiralty on protection of ships' bottoms and on improving optical glass.

He was made President of the Royal Society, but was not a success and after resigning due to ill health he again toured the Continent, dying in Geneva in 1829. To learn more about Humphry Davy visit his biography page . Biography Image 3: Young Faraday (Williams) A Book Binder Michael Faraday was born in the year 1791 in Newington, Surrey England. His parents were poor, and in 1796 his father moved the family to London in search of better work as a blacksmith. His father was a sickly man, and because of this Michael found work at the age of 13 as an errand boy for a local bookbinder. Mr. Riebau, the owner of the bookbinding shop, hired the boy to deliver books and newsletters to his patrons. During breaks, Riebau encouraged Michael to read books and to study. As Faraday grew older, he began attending local lectures held by John Tatum. At the lectures he took shorthand notes, and later rewrote the notes in more depth. While attending Tatum's lectures, Faraday became increasingly interested in chemistry as well as electricity.

It was through these lectures that Faraday learned most of what he knew about electricity, galvanism, hydrostatics, optics and geology (Williams). In 1813, at the age of 21, Faraday became a lab assistant at the Royal Institute in London under the well known scientist Sir Humphrey Davy. Under Davy, Faraday washed test tubes, and assembled lab equipment for Davy public lectures. With the little time he had after his duties, Faraday began conducting some of his own elementary experiments (Kaplan). In the years that followed, Faraday continued to learn and practice experiments at the Royal Institute. In 1821, he married a young lady from his church named Sarah Barnard, and the couple moved in to the upstairs of the Royal Institute. This still did not inhibit Faraday love of science. He continued to work hard, and in that same year, he invented the electric motor (Agassi). Through all his hard work, Faraday became ill in his late years. He was often very sickly, but remained at the Royal Institute working hard as ever.

He was offered many accolades for his work such as knighthood, and the presidency of the Royal Institute, but always turned them down. In 1862, he and his wife retired to Hampton Court as a pensioner of the Queen. Faraday, childless, died here at the age of 76 in 1867, as poor as the day he was born. Biography of Michael Faraday | Michael Faraday Biography Biography of Michael Faraday Date of birth: September 22, 1791 Date of death: August 25, 1867 Profession: Physicist, Chemist Awards won: Copley Medal, Rumford Medal, Royal Medal Michael Faraday MICHAEL FARADY is the source of inspiration to people who think that higher education is absolutely necessary to be a renowned scientist like Faraday. This is not so! To support this argument Michael Faraday is the perfect example. Faraday didn’t receive a formal education, yet through the dint of hard work and sheer determination he became one of the 19â€™Th Century. Michael Faraday belonged to the poor family of a blacksmith.

His parents were so poor that they were not able to send Faraday to school. At a time when all boys of his age went to school, Faraday was engaged in menial work. Due to the crushing poverty of his family, Faraday was forced to take up several odd jobs that taught him how to fend for himself when he was still a minor. However, in the course of time, Faraday’s hard work and a flair for science made him one of the most successful scientists of his time in England.Â Faraday took deep interest in science and made a significant contribution to the study of physics and chemistry.Â Faraday had an extraordinary number of ingenious ways to work out on scientific methods. This special ability of Faradayâ€™s astonished many renowned scientists of his time. Faraday was the first scientist who succeeded in liquefying a permanent gas. This was without doubt a great discovery of his time. Moreover, Faraday is much acclaimedÂ Â for his major contribution to electricity and magnetism. It was Faraday who laid the foundation of the electric motor, the generator, the transformer, etc. As with physics Faraday was also interested in chemistry.

He discovered benzene and used it for different purposes In fact,Â Faraday didn’t have aÂ university education; but he was still unanimously appointedÂ professor of chemistry at the Royal Institution. This was the acknowledgement of his profound knowledge and ingenious capacity to deal with scientific methods. Faraday’s lectures on science were highly knowledge and fully of witty remarks. In order to give due respect to Michael Faraday, a unit of electricity was named after him. It is called â€œFaradâ€ this is the unit to measures an amount of electrical charge. In the course of time, Faraday developed generators and transformers which were regarded as major inventions of 19â€™Th century. Not only this, Faraday is also remembered for having coined new technical words used in electricity like ion, electrode, cathode, and anode etc. MICHAEL FARADAY was born on September 22, 1791, in Newington Butts, London in 1786.By profession, Mr. James Faraday and Mrs. Margaret Hastwell migrated from Clapham, Yorkshire, to London in 1786.By profession, Mr.

James Faraday was a blacksmith, and he was managing to survive on a very meager income. Faraday’s early childhood was spent in poverty and hardship. When Faraday was a young boy of ten, he saw all his playmates going to school. Like many other boys, Faraday also wanted go to school , therefore he repeatedly implored his father to send him to school but his father would say , â€œnext yearâ€, and that next year never came. As a result , all his life Faraday was deprived of school and a university education. Actually Mr. Faraday wanted to send his son to school , but he was simply unable duo to his very poor financial state. His income was quite low and also not very reliable. Due to such an erratic income from his profession Mr. Faraday could not send his son to school. Quite early on Faraday realised the fact that his father would not be able to send him to a school. â€œI should do something to educate myself.â€ Although Faraday was not going to school, he had an unusual obsession for reading and collecting books of all kinds. His interest chiefly lay in science.

He began to collect good books no matter how expensive they were and , to meet the expenses of buying books ; Faraday began to do all sorts of odd jobs that came his way. Faraday’s love for books was well known among his friends. One fine morning, Faraday was going to a job when he met one of his bosom pals, he informed Faraday about a job opportunity available in a bookbinding shop. This was absolutely fabulous news for Faraday because he knew working in a bookbinding shop meant getting an opportunity to read plenty of books. Faraday immediately changed direction and headed towards the bookbinder’s shop and asked the owner for the job. The owner of the bookbinding shop was Mr. Riebau who was a kind man. He agreed to employ Faraday on a nominal wage, but for Faraday a job in a bookbinding shop was more valuable than any wage. Faraday was extremely happy with his new job. He would go to work well before the duty time and leave late in the evening. Faraday would also bring some books with him whose delivery was to be made little late. Faraday started serious study of any science books which fell into his hand.

He had taken a keen interest in science , but especially in physics and chemistry. It became a routine for Faraday to study late into the night , but sometimes he would even remain awake for the whole night and read an entire book in a single sitting. Faraday worked in Mr. Riebau’s bookbinding shop for over eight years. After 8 years of service in Mr. Riebau’s shop , Faraday then joined in Mr. De La Roche’s bookbinding shop. Here too Faraday did his work with complete dedication and gave his mater no opportunity to make a complaint against him. During this period Faraday had successfully managed to collect his own personal library which he kept in his little bedroom where he would study physics and chemistry with complete dedication. While reading science and the works of great scientists , Faraday began to nurture a desire of becoming a scientists deep in his heart. One day a satisfied costumer gave a ticket to Faraday. The ticket was a gate-pass to attend lecture of Sir Humphrey Davy at Royal Institute. Faraday was very grateful to the gentleman who have him the ticket as he was very eager to attend the lectures.

On the day of Davy’s lectures Faraday reached the hall almost an hour early and secure his seat in the first row so that he could see and hear Davy’s lecture clearly. One by one Faraday attended all the lectures of Sir. Humphrey Davy. Sir Humphrey Davy’s learned lectures left a profound impression on Faraday. While Sir Davy was delivering lectures , Faraday has noted down every single important fact in his notebook. Later he carefully studied those notes and wrote several pages which he made into a thick book and went straight to Humphrey Davy’s house. Faraday handed over this book to Sir Humphrey Davy and requested him to read in his leisure time. Sir Davy studied Faraday’s book and found it very interesting. A few days later Faraday asked Sir Davy’s opinion about his book , Sir Davy said he was impressed by his work and these words of Sir Davy were more than enough to inspire a young man like Faraday. Faraday’s meeting with Sir Davy left a good impression upon Sir Davy’s mind. A few months later Faraday sought a job in Sir Davy’s laboratory, because he was eager to see scientific experiments close-up.

Faraday was very happy when he was employed as a laboratory helper. Now Faraday was extremely glad as he had the opportunity to work under the guidance of Sir Davy, a renowned scientist of his time. Faraday was very delighted in order to improve his understanding of science. Sir Davy taught him several important aspects of physics and chemistry that tremendously helped to expand Faraday’s mental horizon . Sir Davy was also very satisfied at seeing Faraday’s rapid progress as he was picking up everything very quickly. After one year of hard work , Faraday has the opportunity to be one of the members of Sir Davy’s entourage on a European tour. On this important tour , Sir Davy delivered many erudite lectures that Faraday had noted down in his notebooks. Faraday had also received some rare opportunities to meet with some renowned scientists. Faraday duly capitalised on this opportunity to improve his scientific Knowledge. While Faraday was doing very well in science , Mrs. Davy never treated Faraday as more than a servant , but Faraday never made any complaint about her obnoxious behaviour to Sir Davy. Faraday remained a through gentleman all his life.

Upon his return from the tour on 1815 , Faraday became even more ambitious to be a scientist then he was before. Now he wanted to establish his own identity as a scientist rather than just as a working assistant in Sir Davy’s laboratory. So Faraday began to study will all his ability. Faraday seriously began making a series of experiments until late into the night. On the basis of his long-time experiments and through study of science. He eventually developed electromagnetic rotations. Faraday showed his discoveries to Sir Davy and asked his opinion for its publication in the scientific journal, but Sir Davy delayed giving his opinion on Faraday’s discoveries and that soured their relationship. Sir Davy did not acknowledge Faraday’s achievement at the first sight and never gave the ideas for this. Anyway , Faraday was most embarrassed at receiving such a cold reception from Sir Davy. However , without getting Sir Davy’s approval, Faraday published his works on electromagnetic rotation. When Faraday’s papers were published in a reputed science journal, Sir Davy blamed Faraday for publishing his papers without his acknowledgement.

Michael Faraday's Magneto Optical electromagnet After the publication of Faraday’s papers in the science journal those scientists who disliked Faraday accused him of stealing or plagiarizing the ideas of other scientists. Faraday did not lend an ear to the clamor his opponents were making, Instead Faraday went on with more experiments and published many scientific papers in several journals. Faraday succeeded to liquefy chlorine in 1823 and proved that a gas can also be liquefied. Slowly but steadily , Faraday was emerging from obscurity into the limelight as a rising scientist. Faraday submitted an application to the Royal Institute in 1824 and sought to be elected a fellow of the Royal Institute , but his application was ruthlessly turned down. Later it was suspected that actually Sir Davy did not want to see Faraday sitting equal to him. In spite of Sir Davy’s strong opposition , the following year Faraday was elected a fellow of the Royal Society and later directory of the laboratory of the Royal Institute. Faraday took special interest in the study of electromagnetic function. After a series of experiments , he discovered electromagnetic induction , the battery , the electric arc , and electrostatics.

These were some of the major discoveries which duly lifted reputation to a new height as a most brilliant scientist. The loads of work and staying up late into night caused severe harm to his health. Due to heavy workload, he often collapsed. Despite this he did not give adequate rest to his body. In his old age, Faraday complained of losing his memory and that made him unable to write about studying or experiment on new things as freely as he wanted. Faraday passed away peacefully at the age of 76 in his arm chair on August 25 , 1867. Faraday discoveries and inventions created new avenues in the field of science and technology. Faraday was without doubt one of the foremost scientist who set the foundations of scientific discovery. Thanks for visiting the biography of Michael Faraday. The Library of Nineteenth-Century Photography - Sir Michael Faraday The Library of Nineteenth-Century Photography Sir Michael Faraday A carte-de-visite portrait of the English chemist and physician Sir Michael Faraday (1791-1867). Faraday began his career in 1813 as assistant to Sir Humphrey Davy at the Royal Institute.

His scientific genius was soon evident, and he is considered the greatest physical scientist of his century. His outstanding achievement was the construction of a complete theory of electricity. He discovered electro-magnetic induction, and invented the dynamo and transformer. He succeeded Davy as Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institute, delivering highly popular lectures, and publishing many treatises on scientific subjects. Photographed by W. Walker and Sons of 64 Margaret Street, London. Michael Faraday Michael Faraday Michael Faraday Darren L. Skoldqvist Every electronic device which exists today stems from the research of Michael Faraday. A self-educated book-binder, Faraday took great interest in physical science and earned a position with the Royal Institution to study the sciences. Faraday was also a devout Christian, remaining loyal to the church throughout his life. While Michael Faraday’s research efforts made advancements in chemistry, he is best known for his work in physics with electricity and magnetism. Seeing the importance of scientific knowledge, Faraday also made efforts to educate the community in which he lived. Faraday was born in Newington Butts, Surrey, just outside of London, England on September 22, 1791.

The son of a blacksmith, Faraday worked as a bookbinder, and developed an interest in science through reading many of the books he produced. He was raised as a Sandemanian Christian, an offshoot of the Presbyterian church that took a literal and hard-line interpretation of the scriptures, and remained loyal to its teachings throughout his life; he even served as a church elder twice during his life. Through an appeal to Sir Humphrey Davy, Faraday earned an assistant’s position at the Royal Institute of London, and through his merits later a position within the Royal Society itself. What is astounding is despite his devout faith in the church and its teachings, Faraday never discussed his religious beliefs publicly and did not allow them to interfere with his study of the natural world. While Faraday’s research sought to explain the mysteries of the natural world, he did not seek to explain away the phenomenon of God; Faraday wrote that a Christian finds his guide in the word of God, and commits the keeping of his soul into the hands of God.

He looks for no assurance beyond what the Word can give him, and if his mind is troubled by the cares and fears which assail him, he can go nowhere but in prayer to the throne of grace and to Scripture (At Play, 1). Even John Tyndall, Faraday’s colleague for fifteen years, and later his biographer, remarked that Faraday kept his religion to himself, though he spoke freely on the topic. Faraday’s method of study completely separated his religious and professional life. Considering that his religion called for a literal interpretation of the Bible, it would be difficult for him to study the natural world without somehow violating those beliefs. He believed that science itself made people “active promoters of error” through their interpretation of the natural world. However, just as he interpreted the Bible literally, Faraday believed “the book of nature would be open to anyone who sought to read it without prejudice” (Gooding, 2). Interestingly, Faraday also disliked the term physicist, and preferred to think of himself as a philosopher instead. Perhaps the semantic difference between these words helped Faraday permit himself to conduct his scientific work as “philosophy” and still maintain his religious beliefs.

Faraday’s work spanned a number of topics in the realms of science, and technologies ranging from refrigeration to the laws of electrolysis are products of his research. His first notable experiment was the liquefaction of Chlorine gas, and this research later led him to the successful liquefaction of 20 gases. He also worked with electrolysis, and his research found the first two laws of electrolysis, as well as coined the terms for the equipment used in the process. Most importantly, Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction, the process of creating a flow of electrons through the use of wire and magnets. In 1821, Faraday began working in electromagnetism after reading of work by Hans Christen Oersted, a German physicist. By connecting two wires to a copper disc, and rotating the disc between the poles of a horseshoe magnet, Faraday discovered that he could create a current. This experiment is duplicated today by passing a bar magnet through a coil of wire connected to a galvanometer.

After 10 years of research, Faraday stated his discovery in his law of electromagnetic induction; “When magnetic flux changes through a circuit, an [electro-magnetic flux] is induced in it which lasts only as long as the change in the magnetic flux through the circuit continues” (Laws, 1). Thus when a magnet or magnetic field is applied to a coil of wire, the flux, or field of lines of force, effects the positions of electrons within the coil and moves them through the coil with the flux. This idea was later applied by inventors to create electric generators, the foundation for modern electricity. Through the application of this principle, science has made possible generators, telephones, speakers, televisions—virtually any electronic device you can imagine utilizes this basic principle. Faraday was also passionate about education and political issues. During his life, the invention of indoor plumbing led to the pollution of the Thames with human waste—which Faraday firmly opposed. The decision led to disaster, when an outbreak of Cholera killed many of London’s residents and led to a ban of burials inside the city. Additionally, Faraday was an advocate for education—he sought to bring people into the realm of scientific thought and develop them into philosophers as well.

To do this, he established a series of “Friday Night Discourses,” lectures by members of the Royal Institution discussing current affairs in science. Faraday also began a series of Christmas Lectures aimed at children. Both series continue to this day, and the Christmas Lectures are televised. Faraday revolutionized science and technology by harnessing electricity in the 1830’s, and as a Scientific Advisor to the Trinity House, he became involved in the education of the British military, where his opinion was considered in matters ranging from the quality of foods at sea to strategy for attacking enemies. His primary duty here, however, was ensuring the safe navigation of ships around the British isle. Faraday developed a method of venting lighthouses with a chimney that caught on quickly and was used in a number of buildings, including Buckingham Palace. During the 1860’s, Faraday also worked on systems for electric lighthouses. These systems were tested and implemented in the Tynemouth and South Foreland lighthouses (Heritage, 2). In 1865, Faraday left the Royal institute after over 50 years of research. He died the same year, and was buried in London.

The work Faraday completed in the field of physics propelled science forward to a new era with technologies unimaginable before his birth. Considered to be one of the greatest experimenters of all time, Faraday’s prolific career solved as many mysteries as it uncovered in the fields of chemistry, electricity, electromagnetism, and optics. Faraday’s ability to separate his faith in God from his research enabled him to advance the human knowledge of the natural world like few other scientists. Likewise, his dedication to his faith made him humble and philanthropic—choosing to educate people and assist those in need. In short, Faraday’s life can be called nothing less than astonishing. Works Cited Gooding, David. “Michael Faraday, 1791-1867: Artisan of Ideas.” University of Bath. March 7, 2003. ~hssdcg/Michael_Faraday.html “Michael Faraday: At Play in the Fields of the Lord.” Christian History Institute. March 7, 2003. “Heritage Faraday Page.” The Royal Institute of Great Britain. March 1, 2003.

“Electromagnetic Induction-Faraday’s Law of Electromagnetic Induction.” City Collegiate. March 7, 2003. Faraday Image retrieved April 7, 2005 from, Other Sources Eichman, Phillip. “The Christian Character of Michael Faraday as Revealed in His Personal Life and Recorded Sermons.” The American Scientific Affiliation. March 7, 2003. Irwin, Keith Gordon. Faraday as a Discoverer. Ed. Tyndall, John. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company. 1961 MacDonald, D. K. C. Faraday, Maxwell, and Kelvin. New York: Anchor Books 1964. “Michael Faraday.” The International Association of Electrical Engineers. March 1, 2003. Michael Faraday Michael Faraday discovered many of the fundamental laws of physics and chemistry, despite the fact that he had no formal education. The son of an English blacksmith, he was apprenticed at the age of 14 to a bookseller and bookbinder.

He read every book on science in the bookshop and attended lectures given at the Royal Institute by various scientists, including Sir Humphrey Davy, the discoverer of 12 chemical elements. In 1812, he applied to Davy for a job, citing his interest in science and showing Davy the extensive lecture notes he had taken. Davy hired Faraday to assist with his research and lecture demonstrations. Within a few years, Faraday began to do original research on his own, submitting two papers on chemistry to the Royal Society in 1820. In that same year, Oersted discovered that a current in a wire will deflect a compass needle. Faraday repeated Oersted's experiments and found that a magnet also exerts a force on a wire carrying an electric current. Soon afterward, he also showed how to liquefy chlorine, and he isolated benzene, a compound now widely used in chemical products. Faraday's important discoveries brought him considerable fame, much to the discomfort of Davy, who felt he should have shared the credit for some of the advances. Davy preferred to regard Faraday as a technical assistant and even forced him to serve as a valet on an extended tour of European research centers.

Despite Davy's objections, Faraday was elected to the Royal Society in 1824 and was made director of the laboratory at the Royal Institute in 1825. After Faraday discovered, in 1831, that a changing magnetic field can induce a current, he performed a series of experiments that showed clearly that the induced EMF is equal to the rate of change of magnetic flux. Also, generalizing from the patterns formed by iron filings around magnets, he invented the concepts of magnetic and electric field lines. Faraday knew little mathematics and found this concrete approach to electricity and magnetism much more useful than equations giving the forces between charges or currents. He also suggested that the propagation of light through space consisted of vibrations of these lines. His concepts of electric and magnetic fields were put into a mathematical form a generation later by Maxwell, who showed that light is, in fact, an oscillatory electromagnetic disturbance. Faraday made many other notable contributions. He devised the first electrical generator, which consisted of a copper disk rotating between the poles of a magnet. He discovered the correct laws of electrochemistry after proving that earlier theories disagreed with experiments.

He studied optical phenomena and found that when light passes through a medium, a magnetic field will rotate the direction of the oscillating electric field. Ignoring scorn from his contemporaries, he attempted unsuccessfully in laboratory experiments to find a link between gravitation and electromagnetism. Such a link was observed 70 years later in a test of Einstein's general theory of relativity, when light rays passing near the sun were found to be deflected. Despite his achievements, Faraday remained a modest and humble person. He declined to be knighted or to receive honorary degrees and only reluctantly accepted a small pension on his retirement in 1858. Faraday Michael. - Simple Science Simple Science posted Jun 25, 2015, 3:04 AM by Upali Salpadoru [ updated Dec 1, 2015, 1:38 PM ] Michael Faraday. 1791-1867 Date of Birth; - September 22nd. Michael was the third child of Margaret Hastwell and James Faraday who lived in a London suburb. James was a blacksmith struggling to get work; adding to the miseries his health deteriorated with time.

The family though poor was tightly bonded together being the followers of the Sandemanian faith, a sect of the protestant church. Michael had on a rudimentary education, in a church school, where he learnt to read write and count. 1804 Age 13 Yrs. In an attempt to help his parents, Michal started to run errands for a book shop owner. It has been quoted that Michael had to manage one week with a single loaf of bread. 1805 Age14 Mr George Riebau , the owner of the book shop pleased with the performance and attitude of the lad made him an apprentice to the trade of book binding. Whenever he had some free time he got engrossed in a book. The employer instead of objecting, encouraged him in this pursuit. A few books on science determined his destiny. One described the production of an electric current, voltaic cells, and another gave simple demonstrations with common chemicals. He spent a part of his meagre salary to buy the ingredients necessary and carried out chemical magic to the entertainment of a few onlookers. 1810 Age 19Yrs. His father who was suffering from an illness for some time passed away.

When he heard a famous scientist Mr. John Tatum was giving a lecture on Natural philosophy (Natural Philosophy was the term used for Physics at the time) He burrowed a shilling from his elder brother, who was also a black smith and attended it. He wanted to leave the book binding job and get into the sphere of science. So he wrote to Sir Joseph Banks, the President of the Royal Society seeing an opportunity. He failed even to get a reply. 1812 Age 21Yrs. A customer of the book shop, who had probably seen one of his chemical displays gave him tickets to attend four lectures to be delivered by the world famous chemist Sir Humphrey Davy. He meticulously followed these taking down notes. He rewrote these very neatly adding illustrations. As he did not have a training in sketching, he begged lessons from an Italian artist in return for dusting his room and blackening his boots. He collected the papers in order and neatly bound them into a book of 350 pages and sent it to the lecturer. Sir Humphrey highly impressed and flattered promptly replied.

“I am far from displeased with the proof you have given me of your confidence, which displays great zeal, power of memory, and attention…. It would gratify me to be of any service to you; I wish it may be in my power.” 1913 Age22Yrs. Humphrey Davy had an accident in his lab and that made him temporarily incapable of writing. He invited Faraday to help him in taking down notes. In the meantime Davy’s assistant was fired for assaulting the instrument maker. Davy employed Michael as a Chemical Assistant of the Royal Institution at a salary of 25 shillings a week and allotted a room for him to stay at his residence. 1814 Age 23Yrs. Despite the war between the two countries, Emperor Napoleon invited Sir Humphrey Davy for a lecture tour in France. The entourage, that set sailed from Plymouth, included Lady Humphrey, her maid and Michael Faraday who was included as the ‘Philosophical assistant’. The personal valet of Sir Humphrey got cold feet and refused to attend. As they had no time to find a new valet that responsibility also fell on Michael Faraday.

Lady Humphrey who disliked Faraday, due to class difference, treated him like a servant. Michael due to his respect and admiration for his master patiently obeyed her orders for the duration of two years. For Michael, Sir Humphrey was more than a demigod, a mine of inexhaustible knowledge. When Sir Humphrey isolated Iodine from a mysterious substance given to him by Monsieur Ampere on the tour Michael was also a party to it. This two year tour was a University seminar for Michael. He met the famous French scientists ranging from Signor Alessandro Volta in Paris to Monsieur Ampere in Milan who frankly disclosed almost everything they knew. Faraday absorbed every crucial fact that was discussed and came home determined to bind the rest of his life to science. 1816 Age 25Yrs. On their return Davy promoted Faraday as a permanent employee of the Royal Institute on a salary of 30 shillings a week. He did not fail to send a part of it to his mother for the education of his sister. It was a great relief for him to have escaped from the clutches of Lady Humphrey. 1820 Age 29Yrs.

When Sir Humphrey went to France again Michael tactfully avoided it and spent time with his first love Chemistry. It was not in vain as he discovered some compounds of chlorine and carbon. When Danish Professor Oersted discovered that a magnetic needle can be disturbed by a current carrying wire nearby, his enthusiasm in electro magnetism got ignited. 1821 Age 30Yrs. Faraday married Sarah Barnard, a family friend they used to meet in church. Davy making sure not to lose him got him appointed as the Acting Superintend of the Royal Institution and grant permission for the couple to live there. Faraday made his first important discovery which drives all electrical spinning, rotating and turning in appliances and machinery. He discovered that a current carrying wire can revolve around the pole of a magnet. (Yet it took more than two decades from this day to develop the electric motor) Then for a few years he stopped research and worked as a consultant to commercial establishments. From this he derived a sufficient income. 1823 Age 32Yrs. He was able to liquefy a gas for the first time in the history of science; the gas was Chlorine. Fig.2 A demonstrating using this can summarise what he discovered.

1824 Age 33Yrs. When he was to be elected to be a member of the Royal Society, then the president of the society, Sir Humphrey Davy, vehemently opposed it. Either he was jealous of Faraday or he did not want one of his subordinates to be on par with him. Despite of his protest Faraday got elected as a fellow of the Royal Society. Any this event did not reduce the admiration and respect Faraday had for Sir Humphrey Davy. 1825 Age 35Yrs. He became the Director of the RI Laboratories. He isolated the organic compound Benzene. 1829 Age 38Yrs. It was customary to conduct public lectures during the Christmas vacation by the leading scientists. In 1825 they started lectures aimed at a juvenile audience. When Michael Faraday started lectures they became very popular. He devoted much time and effort in preparing for these. “Chemical history of the candle” was one series of 6 lectures, which was available in the form of a book. It deals with the Chemistry and Physics of the Flame. 1830 Age 39Yrs.

His popularity reached a peak, commercial companies depended on him for expert advice. This quickly pushed him from the poor to the richer class. He made close upon £ 5,000./ year. He stopped working for the Royal Society in London and would gave up professional practice completely. He wanted to devote himself entirely for scientific research. According to some historians this move retarded the development of the electrical industry. From that day onwards his income decelerated. Fig.3 They still conduct lectures mainly for children in his name. 1831 Age 40 Yrs Another outstanding discovery was what he demonstrated at a Royal Institution lecture in August. He showed that a change in one electrical circuit can produce a current in a nearby circuit if both coils are wrapped around an iron core. This is thee basis for many electrical appliances including transformers. (One year later Joseph Henry also discovered this independently) This phenomenon is known as Electro magnetic induction and it paved the way for Electro magnetic theory of James Clerk Maxwell and the Special theory of Albert Einstein. 1832 Age 41Yrs. He received a honorary Doctorate from The University of Oxford. 1833 Age 42Yrs. He became Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution.

Faraday made important discoveries in electrochemistry. 1834 Age 43Yrs. He changed his life style and stopped dining out and meeting people. 1836 Age 45Yrs. He was made a Member of the Senate of the University of London; a Crown appointment. 1838 Age 47Yrs. Was elected a foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The only people he ever met outside the science community were from the audience that attended his lectures. His lectures became popular day after day. It was a very queer situation,”Just as popularity ascended, his income descended”. Sarah in spite of his frugal ways found it difficult to make the two ends meet. They had to depend on the salary of £ 100. a year. When the plight of this great man was discreetly pointed out to The Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, he said, “ I am sure no man living has a better claim for consideration from the state.” Unfortunately he was defeated at the election that followed. Lord Melbourne that came to power refused the pension outright. Faraday’s followers who refused to accept the verdict forwarded the case to King William IV.

It is said that he almost in tears, overruled the former decision and granted a £300/year pension. 1839 Age 48Yrs. He had been working so hard that he suffered from a severe nervous breakdown. 1841 Age 50Yrs. When he was recovering Sarah took him to Switzerland for convalescence. 1844 Age 53Yrs Became one of eight foreign Members elected to the French Academy of Sciences 1845 Age 54Yrs. Once again he commenced research and made a discovery that no normal scientist could have achieved. He was showed that a strong magnetic field could rotate the plane of polarisation in light, and that the angle of rotation was proportional to the strength of the magnetic field. He also showed that all matter are affected by magnetism. He accepted to work in an advisory capacity, for a body that controlled Light Hoses in England. He found this work relaxing and enjoyable, and he succeeded in getting one lit by electricity for the first time. 1857 Age 66 Yrs. He declined the offer of the Presidency of the Royal Society. When Humphrey Davy retired Faraday became the head of the Royal Institution laboratory.

He declined a knighthood saying, ”I must remain plain Michael Faraday to the last” 1867 Age 76Yrs. Michael Faraday passed away peacefully. As he had declined a buerial at West Minster he was laid down at Highgate Cemetry.

Question: Born in 1791, which scientist was assistant to Sir Humphrey Davy at the Royal Institute?
Answer: MICHAEL FARADAY